The day the wind changed and saved a town from disaster
Brya Ingram It was "all-hands-to-the-pump" - for firefighters, residents and reporters - when the Wither Hills in Blenheim caught fire on Boxing Day, 2000. As a “line of orange” swept down the hill, Boxing Day plans in Blenheim shifted from family get-togethers to fighting fires. Twenty years on, Jennifer Eder looks back on a day etched on the minds of many. Boxing Day in the year 2000 was hot and windy, even by Blenheim's standards. Julia and Steve Healy had been out playing cricket with a dozen friends, who had all come back to theirs for a dip in the pool and a barbecue.
Source: stuff.co.nz